Community consultations

THE Fiji Community Development Program (FCDP) co-ordinated its first pre-disaster consultation with civil society organisations (CSOs) and government stakeholders in Labasa yesterday.

Speaking during the opening of the two-day workshop, FCDP team leader Michael Brownjohn said they were identified last year by the government and CSOs to hold disaster risk management consultations with stakeholders in advance of the next cyclone season.

Mr Brownjohn told participants the workshop was to enhance and increase their understanding and appreciation of the roles and influence of CSOs in disaster risk management in Fiji.

He said it was also aimed at enabling discussions on practical and consistent disaster risk management strategies that CSOs could use to actively engage communities in disaster preparedness.